


Fallen Stars

by acrossthecosmos



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Emperor Kylo Ren, Empire Restoration, Empress Rey, F/M, Fucked Up, Human Trafficking, Hurt/Comfort, Past Sexual Abuse, Poor Kylo Ren, Poor Rey, Rey Palpatine, Snoke is a predator
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-18
Updated: 2020-01-18
Packaged: 2021-02-25 16:20:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22298872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/acrossthecosmos/pseuds/acrossthecosmos
Summary: Kylo Ren and Snoke are at war to decide who runs the First Order. In order to win, Kylo only has one solution: find and marry Palpatine's last surviving heir.Or...Rey never found BB-8, the Resistance fails, and the First Order is now at war with itself.
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 8
Kudos: 46





	Fallen Stars

The trail to the heir had run cold for a year upon finding Ochi dead on Pasaana. The bones found in a sinkhole were proof enough of his demise. Yet, the heir had been so close to him two years prior. Ben recalls the droid he collected on Jakku to find his now dead uncle. She was close to him then, but he was too concerned with finding the map to Luke Skywalker to notice.

Ben is now aware of the heir's presence. In his visions, he hears her crying out. The sand flaking off her clothes and her tattered clothing is so vivid when he connects with her. It’s the only reason he‘s managed to narrow down exactly where this girl is. Jakku was always the garbage pit of the outer rim, but it's conditions have worsened since his last visit. Without the New Republic's aid, it’s economic system has collapsed in on itself. Debt bondage has now become slavery. The Empire's princess has become a slave.

Ben had sent one of his loyal knights to survey the planet before his arrival. The heir is currently serving a slave driver by the name of Unkar Plutt. Her pain radiates even from afar. The void in her soul splits into tiny cracks. She’s about to shatter to pieces. Ben won’t allow her to burn out and become a lifeless corpse left for dead in a sand dune. It was her grandfather that trained his grandfather. He won't have her rot.

The heir must live if Snoke is to be removed from power. The Palpatine name is Ben's last chance at victory in this civil war. If Ben binds a Palpatine to him by marriage, the Imperial Remnants will cease to follow Snoke. Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader are the Empire. The Empire can only be reborn through him and her, and only then, will Snoke's First Order crumble.

The thrill of taking Snoke’s power right from underneath him excites him. The thought of torturing that creature to death is the only thing that brings a smile to his lips. Ben has been waiting for this since Snoke isolated him and abused him as a child. Ben's eyes narrow as he gazes upon Jakku. He will have her, he will destroy Snoke, and have his revenge.

“Ready my ship.” Ben’s distorted voice echoes through his mask.

~*~

By the time the ship lands, night has already fallen over Niima village. Ben steps down the ramp of his ship, Stormtroopers flanking him on both sides. Fire lights the village rather than artificial light. A decaying body lays dead in the sand, flies swarming around it and maggots picking at its open sores. Sheev Palpatine's worthless son was a fool to leave his daughter alone in such a place. There’s no buildings or structure, only junk and tents. Ben has never seen a worse place in the whole galaxy.

Ben shuts his eyes, reaching out for her with his mind. The girl's life force is thin like a string about to be cut. Clarity comes to him as the last of her life force cries out to him. Ben's eyes open, his gaze focusing on a leathery tent like hut. He unhooks the lightsaber from his belt as he approaches two guards. Both are human men on the taller side, but not quite as tall as him. The two men raise their blasters to him. Ben ignites his lightsaber right before they fire upon him. A deflected blast hits the man on the right, knocking him to the ground. Ben raises his hand to his attacker on the left, freezing him in place. He steps toward the man and cuts him in half.

"Stop!" a male voice shouts. "This is my outpost!"

Ben turns to what might be the most disgusting creature he's ever seen. His lightsaber hums as he stares down the creature before him. He's seen holographic images of this man before. Unkar Plutt, the slave driver.

"I am the Supreme Leader. Everything in this galaxy belongs to me." Ben's voice is cold and authoritative when he speaks.

The creature's eyes glance at the hut. "You want a slave."

"I'm not here for a slave. There will never be slavery in my galaxy," Ben says.

"What's it to you?" the creature says.

"My grandfather was a slave," Ben states. "Each and every one of your slaves will be free to come with me when I'm done here."

"You can't do that!"

"I can and I will."

A part of him wants to cut this creature to pieces, but he has other ideas for him in the future. Ben disengages his lightsaber and motions the Stormtroopers forward. "Take him into custody."

Ben turns his attention back to the hut. No more time can be wasted. He must take Palpatine‘s heir to safety. Ben steps inside the tent like hut to see the heir lying on the sandy floor. Her ankle is chained to a post and her arms are tied behind her back in handcuffs. Her chest rises and falls in a soft pattern. Sleep must be the only peace this girl ever sees. 

Ben steps forward and kneels before the girl. Her face is covered in purple bruises and her lower lips split at the middle. She had rebelled and been beaten bloody for it. Ben reaches out and touches her arm with a gloved hand. The girl's eyes snap open, a sharp gasp escaping her. Ben brushes back a lock of hair from her face and cups her cheek. Her bloodshot eyes study his clothing before they glance at his mask. 

Ben can sense her fear and thumbs her cheek with a gentle stroke. “Don’t be afraid.”

The girl’s eyes glance up to his mask as if she’s trying to read him. She’s afraid, but also curious. Ben’s hand trails down from her cheek to the crook where her neck and jaw meets. She’s terrified, but she doesn’t draw back from him.

“My master…” she whispers.

“He can’t hurt you anymore,” Ben reassures.

Ben’s hand trails from her neck to her exposed shoulders. He finds that he likes this closeness to her and craves skin to skin contact. There’s something about this girl that draws him to her that he can’t quite figure out. Ben stops at her cuffs. With a wave of his hand, they open. He proceeds to wave the cuff on her ankle open and draws the girl into his arms. The girl is weightless in his arms when he rises from the ground. Her head falls into his chest. She doesn’t fight him despite her uncertainty of what may lie ahead.

“Who are you?” she asks.

“I am the Supreme Leader.”

“What do you want with me...?” she asks.

“I’m here to rescue you,” Ben replies.

“Where are you taking me?”

“Away from here,” he answers.

~*~

The girl might appear peaceful sleeping safely in his quarters, but Ben can feel her pain in waves. The fear and trauma that resonates from the girl is an amplified version of what he felt when fleeing from his uncle’s students. Snoke had exploited his fear and abused him for years just as this girl has been exploited. Ben brushes a strand away from her cheeks. He studies her face, wondering what she might look like when the bruises and split lip heal.

General Pryde stands behind him, looking down at the girl curled up on a leather couch. Anger boils off of Pryde as he looks down at the Emperor’s heir. Pryde’s lust for blood and revenge cuts hot like the blade of Ben’s saber. To find the last Palpatine enslaved and beaten within an inch of her life—Ben can’t think of a greater insult to the Empire. Pryde, one of Palpatine’s loyalest of men, will want blood.

“Who is responsible?” he asks.

“A slaver from Niima village. Unkar Plutt. Others were profiting and benefiting from his slave trade as well,” Ben answers.

“And, you allowed them to live?” Pryde snaps.

“I wanted to get the heir to safety,” Ben replies. “The slave driver is in our custody. What else would you have me do?”

“He must pay!” Pryde barks. “They all must pay! You are the Supreme Leader, Kylo Ren. The galaxy must know that there are consequences when they stand against the Empire.”

The part of him that’s still that scared little boy calls out to him, pleading that he be merciful. Ben glances down at the girl, seeing the marks left on her. Their punishment will be merciful compared to cruelty done to this girl. Ben has committed acts of violence in the past. What is one more cruel act amongst the garbage in that city?

“Glass the village,” Ben orders.

“All of it?” Pryde asks.

“All of it. No survivors.”

* * *

When he returns with medical supplies, the girl is startled from her sleep. She sits up on the couch and wraps her blanket around herself. Wide, fearful eyes stare up at him. She’s been enslaved and dehumanized. The fear she has is a rational defense mechanism adopted after all the abuse she’s faced. Ben takes slow, careful steps towards her. It’s integral that he earns her trust if he ever expects to gain any kind of consent to marry her. 

Ben can’t force her into this. Those loyal to the Empire will not stand to see Sheev Palpatine’s heir brutalized and raped. That and he couldn’t bring himself to hurt her in such a way. Ben’s fully aware of his cruelty, but he won’t stoop to that kind of evil. Even a monster like himself has a line that he won’t cross.

Ben sets the tray of medical supplies on the Kaf table opposite of Rey. He stands between the couch and table as he stares directly into her eyes. She glances up at his mask as if she’s trying to make eye contact with him. She’s afraid but he can also sense an inkling of curiosity within her.

“What is your name?” Ben asks.

“Rey.”

He tests how much she knows about herself and asks, “Rey who?”

“No one,” she replies. “I’m no one. What do you want with me? I don’t understand.”

There’s a silence that passes between them. Ben isn’t quite sure where he should begin. 

“My parents...” A flicker of a smile curves on her bruised and split lip. “My parents sent for me. You’re taking me to them, aren’t you?”

“No,” he replies.

The glimmer of hope in her eyes dims as the smile fades from her face. Ben is careful when he chooses his next words. “Rey, I need to tend to your wounds before they get infected.”

The little bit of light left in her seems to die as she lowers her eyes. He can sense a void within her. She’s so starved for any scrap of affection that she had hoped he had answers. Ben sits next to her on the couch. She draws her knees to herself and wraps her arms around them. Tears form in her eyes, but she refuses to let them fall. She curls into herself and rests her chin on her knees. Ben isn’t sure how to approach her. She’s so closed off to him. 

But, he does have one thing he can offer her. “Let me tend to your wounds and I will tell you everything you need to know about your parents.”

Rey’s eyes stare off to the other side of the room. Her arms drop to the side as she shifts on the couch to face him. Her eyes are curious as she looks up to his mask. It’s as if she’s trying to crack beyond the metal covering his face and see inside of him. Rey draws in a sharp breath and nods.

Ben leans forward and grabs a syringe full of pain medicine. He takes her arm in his and looks down on her wrist. It might be better to have a nurse tend to her, but he can’t trust anyone with her. If one of Snoke’s spies discovers who she is, that spy will inject poison straight into her bloodstream.

Ben steadies his hands and pricks her skin with the needle. The girl tenses as the medicine pushes through her veins. He soothes her by stopping to brush a strand of hair away from her face and saying, “It will take the pain away.”

Ben waits her muscles are relaxed. He’s unsure of her personal history but it’s safe to assume that she was trafficked for more than just labor. He needs to clean the lashes on her back, but to do so would require her to be topless.

“Rey…” he pauses. “I need you to trust me.”

Rey doesn’t have much of a choice but to trust him. If her wounds aren’t cleaned and mended, she won’t survive longer than a week. But, he would rather earn her trust rather than push her. If she is the key to winning this war, he needs her cooperation rather than her resistance. He tries to find words that might counsel her, but finds there’s no way to ask this of her without being blunt.

“Your wounds on your back…” he starts.

Rey nods. She turns away from him. Ben peels both his gloves off and sets them on the table. He turns back to Rey touches the ends of a dirtied beige shirt. Rey raises her arms over her head so that he can pull her shirt upwards. Ben draws her shirt upwards. The shirt peels away from the crusted, dried blood around her wounds. Ben tosses the dirtied garment to the side and looks down on her wounds. He grimaces at the greenish pus. He hopes that the medicine pumping through her veins is enough to kill the pain that will surely follow. 

The first thing he does is take a large piece of gauze and douses it with rubbing alcohol. He starts from the top of her back and cleans the dirt covering her skin. Ben makes sure to clean each spec of her back before he takes the rubbing alcohol from the tray and pours it over his hands. He takes a piece of gauze in hand and doses it in sterilizing liquid. He looks to lash crossing over her shoulder blades. He presses the piece of cloth to the wound. Rey flinches and hisses when he moves along the open wound.

“Tell me about my parents,” she whispers.

Ben pauses his movements. “Right now?”

“Yes,” she replies.

Ben resumes cleaning the wound as his mind searches for a place to begin. He decides to start with where it began. “Your grandfather was a senator from Naboo. He had a son. They didn’t see eye to eye. Their personal differences were like night and day. So, your father cut ties with your grandfather, choosing to live a simpler life.”

Ben pauses to wet a fresh piece of gauze and presses it on the next lash. “They lived apart for many years, choosing to ignore each other. But, your grandfather needed an heir and your father refused to turn you over to him. So, at some point, your parents must have left you on Jakku to hide you. I’m not sure why they thought to leave you in a place so desolate. I assume they thought that no one would look there.”

“Who was he?” she asks.

“Your father?”

“My grandfather,” she clarifies.

Ben considers his next words and decides to go with blunt honesty. “Your grandfather was Emperor Sheev Palpatine.”

Rey falls completely silent and allows Ben to finish cleaning the last lash on her back. He sets the piece of gauze aside and sterilizes his hands. He shifts toward the tray and strings a needle with a piece of thread to stitch the lashes on her back.

Ben’s fingers touch the flesh of her back, causing a shiver to escape her. He presses the needle into her skin and begins to thread together her broken skin. She’s still quiet as a temple mouse. He had expected that the news of her powerful lineage would ease her pain, but she’s just so numb. Ben threads together the last of her lashes. He sets the needle aside and turns back to the tray and grabs a bacta patch. He places it against the first lash on her back and repeats the process until each lash is covered.

Rey wraps her arms around herself. She turns toward him, despite not having a shirt to cover herself. Tears are streaming down her face. She curls into him and buries her face into his chest as she sobs uncontrollably. He strokes her hair to comfort her. Ben waits for her sobs to cease before he tilts her gaze upward. He gently thumbs a stray tear from her bruised cheek.

He parts from her and takes a fresh piece of gauze in hand and cleans her face. He daps his finger into some bacta cream and runs it over her swollen, split lip. She lets out a soft gasp at his touch and shuts her eyes. He can sense this tiny feeling of longing buried deep within her—the part of her that craves love and companionship. Rey’s eyes flicker open when he withdraws his hand from her face. She’s looking up at him with this curious stare. She wants to see his true face. 

Ben touches the top of her mind. She thinks he might be disfigured, but she takes his hand in hers anyways and interlaces her fingers in his. He can sense the confusion within her. She hardly knows him and doesn’t understand why she’s so drawn to him. It feels so familiar to her. She decides she doesn’t care what he looks like. She just wants to be close to him, because she can’t fight the pull that she feels to him. The light inside her pours into him, making him withdraw from her mind. How can she be so pure of heart even after all that has happened to her? 

“Who are you?” she asks.

“I am the Supreme Leader,” he answers.

Rey shakes her head before rephrasing her question. “Everyone knows who you are, Kylo Ren. Who are you and why do you care about me? The Empire is gone.”

“My grandfather was Emperor Palpatine’s apprentice,” he answers. “Protecting you from Snoke is the least I can do to honor both of them.”

“He wants to hurt me?” she asks.

“You are a threat to him, because your family name will prevent him from consolidating more power,” Ben replies. “He has two options. He can kill you or he can force you into marriage. You are too old for his personal tastes. So, I can only assume he would rather have you dead.”

“I’m still young,” Rey says defensively.

Ben grits his teeth, trying to fight trauma of his own. It’s why he wears this mask. That way no one can see how broken he really is.

“Snoke…” Ben pauses. “He has a certain preference, a very young preference.”

A certain understanding crosses her features before she rests her head on his chest. She curls into him so that she’s sitting on his lap. Ben wraps his arm around her to cradle her in his arms. The pain medicine running through her veins has clouded her judgment, allowing for her to trust him more than she might have if she were of sound mind.

“You’re not afraid of me?” Rey’s voice is quiet and slurred. “I’m not a threat to you?”

“No,” he replies. “I want to keep you safe.”

The trauma she’s experienced cuts so deep that she’s too fragile to be a real threat. Her lack of experience in politics will also prevent her from gaining any real support on her own, but her existence is still a threat to Snoke. Ben strokes her cheeks with the back of his fingers. If this girl marries him, those who supported Palpatine will abandon Snoke.

But, how does one make someone else fall in love? He’s never been in love with anyone. Ben glances down at Rey. She’s fast asleep against his chest. He supposed this is a start at the very least.

* * *

“Kylo…”

Rey’s whisper snaps him back to attention. Ben’s not sure how long he’s been holding her, but when he sees the strain in her eyes, the need to protect her hits him.

“The pain…” she mumbles.

Ben had expected as much. He could inject her with more pain medicine, but decides against it. It’s too addictive especially with her fragile state of mind. Ben had prepared for this. Ben rises from the couch and grabs a blue sphere from the medical tray. He moves through his private quarters until he reaches the refresher. He sets the water to a hot temperature and drops the bacta sphere into the water.

Ben leaves the refresher and returns to Rey. She’s clutching herself as she rocks back and forth. Ben lifts her into his arms and carries her to the refresher. He sets her legs onto the floor. Rey’s legs buckle underneath her, but Ben catches her before she falls.

“Easy…” Ben says as he steadies her.

Rey clings to him as if she were holding onto him for dear life. Ben sits her down at the edge of the tub and places his hand on the back of her shoulder so that she doesn’t fall backward. Rey breathes as she looks up to him. She wraps her arms around her exposed breasts as she recognizes the vulnerable position she is.

“You won’t hurt me…?” Rey’s voice cracks at the end of the sentence.

“I won’t hurt you,” Ben reassures.

“Okay…” she says more to herself than to him.

Rey slides her pants and undergarments down her legs. Ben lifts her up and places her inside the bath. Rey releases a tight breath as she sinks into the blue water. 

“It’s hot,” she says.

“I can turn the temperature down,” Ben suggests.

“No,” she says. “It’s perfect. I’ve never had a hot bath before.”

Ben rises to leave, but Rey snatches his wrist in her hand. “Stay with me.”

Ben sits at the edge of the bath and faces her. She stares up at him with a spark in her eyes. Her hands interlace in his as she stares up at him. 

“I used to have these visions,” Rey’s voice is distant and whimsical. “There was a shadowy figure. I used to see someone. It sounds so crazy, but I feel like I’ve known you all my life.”

Ben’s fingers give her hand a tight squeeze. Her eyes shut and her swollen, split lips manage a brief smile. It’s tragic that this might be her first real smile in years.

Ben waits for her to relax and takes a bottle of shampoo in hand. He shakes it and places a small dollop of shampoo in his palm. Ben sets the bottle aside and wets his hand in water. He massages the shampoo into her scalp. Rey shuts her eyes and smiles to herself. He can sense that he finds this soothing and continues to run his hands along her scalp longer than he needs to.

Ben withdraws his hands from her and wipes them clean with a small towel. Rey dips her head into the water to wash her hair clean and sits back up. She runs her hands through her wet, clean hair. The small luxury of a bath must mean everything to her. She shifts in the tub to face him and places her wet hand against his mask. Her fingers linger for a moment before she withdraws them.

The bacta should be soaked into her skin now. Ben helps her out of the tub so that she doesn’t fall over as she steps out. Rey steadies herself on the sink as Ben holds out a black robe for her. She slides her arms inside the sleeves and wraps the robe around herself. Rey ties the front and turns to latch onto him as they walk back to the couch.

Ben goes to his Kaf maker and prepares two cups for the both of them. He sets them on a tray along with a pasty for Rey to eat. He carries the tray over to the Kaf table and sits on the couch next to Rey. Ben reaches behind himself and disengages his mask before pulling it off of his head.

Rey’s eyes flicker up to him, studying his face. She turns her eyes back to the cup of Kaf and takes the mug in hand. Rey takes a sip and smiles. “I’ve never had this before. What is it?”

“Kaf,” Ben answers.

Rey sets the mug down and takes the pastry in hand. She devours it as if it were her last meal and washes it down with another sip of Kaf. She shifts close to him so that her hip touches his. She rests her head against his shoulder and holds her steaming mug of Kaf in both hands.

“I can’t believe I’m here,” Rey murmurs. “It seems like a dream.”

Ben places his arm around her and draws her closer to him. She was supposed to be merely a pawn, but a part of him is so drawn to her. It’s as if he’s found something he’s lost. Just the thought of someone hurting her makes him want to make that person bleed. He’s glad that he kept Plutt alive rather than allowing him a quick death. Ben looks forward to visiting him later.

Rey is leaning into the crook between his chest and shoulder. She nuzzles into him and that part of her that’s longing for a sense of belonging calls out to him. He runs his fingers along her arm in a soothing pattern. There’s this sense of desire that burns within him. He’s never felt anything like it before. He wants her and he’s willing to do anything to make her his.

**Author's Note:**

> So, this sort of just happened and I typed it up. I have no idea how I feel about it either way yet, but felt the need to post it.


End file.
